Residents in the second phase of the Hart Highlands sanitary sewer installation project will get more information next week on costs and grant opportunities.
A public meeting has been scheduled for Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. at Hart Highlands elementary school to discuss the possible local area service to pay for hooking another 100 homes to the sewer system.
But this meeting comes after the second appearance on a city council agenda of a staff report regarding the city's submission to the first intake to the New Building Canada Fund's first intake to its Small Communities Fund program.
Staff have recommended council approve the $1.41 million Fraser River Bench Land Outfall Remediation project, which would build infrastructure to protect against future erosion and to fix erosion that has already happened along the Fraser River Bench Lands near Lower College Heights.
The decision was postponed from Jan. 19 to the Feb. 2 meeting to allow for discussion on the Hart Highlands project.
"It would seem to me that it would be considerably more logical to use the Small Communities Grants for developing base needs for the residents of Prince George - things like water and sewer service, than using such a grant to reduce a potential liability," area resident Gord Simmons wrote in a letter to council. "I encourage council to seriously consider applying for the grant for the Hart Highlands sewer project for 2015, which I'm sure is also 'shovel ready.'"
The city can only submit one application and it must be completed for a Feb. 18 deadline.
"Many important projects in Prince George would be eligible, and the city is faced with the difficult decision of choosing just one project to put forward," wrote public works director Bill Gaal in a letter to residents informing them of next Thursday's meeting. "Submitting a project does not guarantee that it will be funded as it must compete with projects from other communities across the province."
Hotel hearing
Those with an interest in a plan to bring a new hotel to the Highway 16 corridor can have their say Monday night.
An application for a 243-room development behind the Prince George Playhouse is up for public hearing and third reading during the Feb. 2 city council meeting.
Public hearings begin at 7 p.m. in council chambers at city hall.
The 2.15 hectares of land are partly owned by the city, with the rest belonging to the Prince George Golf and Curling Club.
Preliminary designs for the hotel showcase two four-storey hotels fronting Recplace Drive connected via a one-storey pool and fitness facility under the Pomeroy Hotel flag.
If third reading is granted, final reading will be held until a traffic impact study is completed.
